Of Stripes and Hooves
by Miss Mila
Summary: A post "Zebras" one-shot. E/O, of course. What exactly happened once the screen went black? Please R R.


_**Disclaimer:** __I don't own any of the Law and Order: Special Victims Unit characters, places, themes, etc. No copyright infringement intended. _

_**Author's Note: **__The episode "Zebras" came on a few days ago, and it was an amazing episode. I really loved it. And, with a lot of these episodes that I love, story ideas come on their own. So, voila, enjoy! Oh, and a little note. Since I'm not a regular watcher of this L&O, I don't know about Elliot's marriage/divorce/separation or whatever it was, so I'm just going to pretend that his wife doesn't really exist/care at this point, and that the kids are with her…or something. _

_**Note Two: **Thanks a ton to anonymous reviewer _HelloHandsomee_ and my BFF_ Bryn Elizabeth_for mentioning my typos. Bryn...your way of mentioning them was just a bit more cruel. And if HH is reading this, thanks for your amazing review! I'm sorry I couldn't reply to it. _

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They say that if you hear hooves in Central Park you shouldn't expect zebras. The simple explanation is usually the correct one. It made sense for those of science; it made sense that everything would work out that well. However, she never did like science.

Sushi. A simple enough explanation as to why Elliot didn't answer his phone. A _wrong _one at that, but a simple explanation nonetheless. But see, Elliot didn't like sushi. So, therefore, that explanation wouldn't work. And of course, no one would suspect that a crazy Detective _wannabe _killed the cyber tech and then strapped Elliot to a chair, cut him up, and threatened his life. Being a detective, and not a psychic, neither did she, but something on her Elliot-radar was off, and she trusted her gut feeling that he needed help.

Dale Stuckey. The wannabe Detective was a crazy lunatic who apparently wasn't hugged enough as a child. He killed O'Halloran and cut Elliot just because his _feelings _got hurt. She hated that dirt bag.

So, El-dar flashing, she found them there. The cyber tech she'd grown to admire was laying dead, knife wound fresh, and her partner was sitting tied to a chair, blood seeping through his shirt. He shook his head at her, warning her to run, thinking of her while _he _was hurt. The zebra explanation was that he didn't want his partner to get hurt. But years of partnership and friendship and shared times suggested that this simple explanation, though not completely wrong, wasn't completely right either.

A gun was pointed at her head, and she panicked, just for a second. He recognized the look. Her eyes widened slightly, and there was a slight look of desperation before she gathered her features. And then she did the only thing she could think to do. She played along.

She managed to convince Dale (who really wasn't that hard to convince) that she hated Elliot, that she was _glad _he was doing this, that she would back _his _story up. So, eyes pleading for forgiveness, she slapped Elliot, accusing him of ordering her around, of controlling her, which is something he would _never _do. She hit him, harder than she meant to hit him, but she still hit him. And he caught on, calling her names and telling her not to lay another finger on him. It'd be funny if the situation weren't so dire.

And _Dale _fell for Olivia's little act, fell for it all. He believed it a bit _too _much, in Elliot's opinion. He believed it _so _much, in fact, that he wanted to kill Elliot then and there. She came up with something quick, and she knew what she had to do, even if she'd hate herself for it. But, she did it for Elliot.

She kissed that bastard and with Elliot's help she knocked him out. She untied Elliot with shaking hands; face pale and beaded with sweat. He was leaning against her for support, and he felt her shaking, but she kept her features composed while cops and detectives and CSIs swarmed the scene, Cragen in their midst.

She kept her features composed while the Doctors poked and prodded Elliot, cleaned his wounds and bandaged them, and then started working on the bruises she'd inflicted to his face. "You didn't have to play along _that _well." He said with a small smile as she stood there, in the doorway, though the smile was only for her benefit.

It wasn't until after Elliot had been released from the hospital that the night's events all dawned on her.

She cried and shook in Elliot's ready embrace, careful not to harm him further. "You-you almost died." She choked out between sobs. "And O'Halloran _is _dead."

He just held her closer and stroked her back, tears threatening to fall from his own eyes. "I know, Liv, I know."

He held her tightly and assured her that he wasn't going to go anywhere; he wasn't going to leave, he was fine. And so, she put on her brave face, wiping her tears for the time being, and got in the car, driving them straight to her apartment.

He sat next to her on the sofa, after she'd gotten changed and made them both coffee. She seemed preoccupied, and he knew that she was replaying the events in her head. "Hey," he said softly, touching her hand lightly.

She jumped at the touch, and shook it off, turning to him. "I'm sorry." And then she reached up and slowly traced his bruised face. "For that, too."

He shook his head slowly, and took her hand in his own. "Not your fault. You saved my life."

And he stayed with her on the couch that night, knowing that she'd wake up from her nightmares, calling out to him (like she did on many nights, though he didn't know it) and this time he'd be there. He knew that she needed his reassurance that the nightmares weren't real, that he was alive, and she was alive, and that they were okay.

They say that if you hear hooves in Central Park you shouldn't expect zebras. The simple explanation is usually the right one. But, as Elliot lie on the couch, Liv's head against his chest, he realized that nothing was simple. Not in the work he did, not in the detectives he called his family, and certainly not between him and his partner. No, it wasn't simple, but he didn't mind. Personally, he thought that zebras were more interesting than horses.

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_**Author's Note: **__Eh? How was it? It's my first LOSVU fic…I think. My first posted one, at least. Anyway, if you haven't noticed I am a total E/O shipper, and I think I'll stay that way, thank you very much. Anywhoo, leave a review, if you don't mind. Tell me how I did. _


End file.
